


Little Piggy

by firelord65



Category: Seafire Series - Natalie C. Parker
Genre: Bonding, Gen, Hunting, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:42:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28143309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firelord65/pseuds/firelord65
Summary: The crew of theMors Navisstops for a supply run at a small island. What they find there is too good to pass up, even if it is a bit more of a challenge than they'd expected to encounter.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1
Collections: Yuletide 2020





	Little Piggy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fallintosanity (yopumpkinhead)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/yopumpkinhead/gifts).



"C'mon ladies, this isn't a day at the beach," Redtooth's drawl somehow carried through the air effortlessly. She hardly had to nudge the tiny shore party, all of the crew of the _Mors Navis_ were hard workers through and through, but it did encourage some of the more easily distracted girls back to work. It had been a while since they'd last made berth anywhere.

The island they'd selected to forage on wasn't notable in any regard and that was precisely why it had been selected. Last night Caledonia and Lace had poured over the carefully hand-sketched map of the Bone Mouth selecting the precise island that would be likely to have fruit trees aplenty while not taking them too far off course.

Pisces stepped lightly through the shallows carrying two large sacks to the bow boat. She nodded at Redtooth and said nothing else. If she disagreed with Redtooth's prodding of the crew, she more than likely wouldn't say anything until they were back on the ship. But since this was a training of sorts for some of the fresher faces on the crew, it was Redtooth's prerogative how to proceed. Pisces slipped once more into the treeline after she had dropped off the sacks with three more empties slung over her shoulder.

Redtooth scanned the treeline with a ready eye. "They seem like they're making good progress." From the bench of the bow boat, Lace's voice carried over the soft sound of the waves lapping on the sand.

"I had no doubts," Redtooth replied with a ready grin. It did still feel good to hear - indirectly - that her work was showing positive improvement. She spared a glance back to Lace. "How's that ankle?"

Lace's grimace was an unfamiliar visitor to the normally positive girl's visage. "I keep thinking it feels better and try to turn it. Not the smartest," she replied.

With a laugh, Redtooth agreed. "Not quite. Just be patient. We'll be done in no time at this rate."

From deep in the trees a sharp whistle came up. Redtooth sucked in a breath and lurched forward into a half dozen steps before she heard the answering whistles from the others scattered throughout the brush. Whistling meant _there's something going on_ but didn't necessarily mean _trouble_. The answering calls were exactly what they had drilled to. Someone would find the original girl's signal and eventually, within the next few minutes, news would come back to the boats if there was anything serious.

Lace grunted, prompting Redtooth to turn her head back again to the girl. "You have to stay still," Redtooth insisted. Lace had reacted to the whistle as well or perhaps to Redtooth's movement.

"Is it danger?" Lace pressed, ignoring the remark. She was already checking the wraps about her hands with practiced motions.

Redtooth ground her teeth and studied the trees again before replying. It was difficult to tell from her position at the beach exactly what was going on. Of course Pisces was there and, again, _something_ didn't mean _danger_ and definitely didn't suggest Bullets, but there was that nagging feeling in the back of Redtooth's mind that refused to shut up.

"I don't think so," Redtooth answered slowly. Her hand remained on the grip of her pistol regardless. She didn't remember grabbing it; probably she'd seized it from the instant she left the prow of the boat.

The morning sun was about halfway up in the air and was more than enough to coax out the sweat that Redtooth felt trail down the back of her neck. Waiting was agony, even if this was what they had drilled for. A few more indistinct calls joined the sound of the surf and sea birds. Finally a figure burst out of the brush.

It was one of the newest girls on the crew, one of the five Mary sisters. Her face was flushed but her eyes were bright from excitement not fear. "There's a boar!" she shouted across the stretch of beach. "A big fat one!"

Redtooth blinked and waited for the Mary girl to cross the last few yards between them. "A boar? You're sure? This island's barely big enough for that kind of wildlife," she remarked.

The Mary sister dropped her hands to her knees as she caught her breath. "There's a wrecked bow boat too - looks like it had a merchant's mark on the back panels. Pisces thinks they had pigs and they crashed or sommat. The boat's no more than a few months old. They ran 'er aground. Pi's looking at the engine," she explained between heaving breaths.

There was a splash as Lace delicately ignored Redtooth's withering glare to limp over to the girls. "Is there just one pig then?" she asked. Redtooth surveyed the plant life around them, re-assessing the landscape.

"Maybe there could be two, but it's any more they would have eaten each other by now," she suggested. The Mary girl blanched at that. "Pigs'll eat anything if they need to and most of the fruits here are on the trees, not in the bushes."

"Or there was only one pig on the boat. I can't imagine you could haul more than one or two on a bow boat," Lace suggested. She placed a hand on the Mary girl's shoulder, though that could have been to account for how she was balancing on one leg.

Redtooth shifted from one foot to another in the sand. "This'll be a good experience for the girls," she said mostly to herself. There was a conundrum rattling around in her head. To head into the trees and take charge, ensuring that she did everything they could to bring back the invaluable meat? Or to step back and allow the crew this chance to flourish on their own?

"We're gonna need two trips to bring back boar meat with everything else we've taken on," Lace remarked. As always she was pragmatic and thinking ahead.

"Seems like counting our hens before they've hatched," Redtooth said. She drummed her fingers on her crossed arms, feeling a bit like her thoughts were running a hundred miles a minute trying to consider all the potentials. Sighing, she jutted her chin at the brush over the Mary sister's shoulder. "Head back to Pisces. Let her know I'm bringing Lace back to the _Mors Navis_ and the first round of supplies. Thirty minutes, no more, and I'll be back."

The Mary sister nodded eagerly. "Got it!" She paused until Lace had hopped to Redtooth's side and switched to gripping the other girl before bolting once more into the island depths.

"You said 'I'll be back,' not 'we'll be back.' You were just waiting for an excuse to dump me back on the ship, weren't you?" Lace teased. Redtooth wrapped her arm under Lace's and took as much of the girl's body weight off her bad ankle she could.

"Nah," Redtooth insisted. "I'm just giving them a challenge. See if they can hunt and kill a boar in thirty minutes or less. Think they're up for it?"

Lace grew quiet while they carefully boarded the bow boat. "I think they'll be just fine," she said with an air of finality. Redtooth checked one final time that Lace was firmly seated and definitely not trying to put any more pressure on her ankle before igniting the engine.

* * *

The bow boat returned with Redtooth and two new passengers. Little Lovely Hime wanted to take her time checking Lace's injury which meant she was firmly disallowed to join in a boar hunt on an unknown island. Joining Redtooth now was Amina and the captain herself. Redtooth felt some kind of way about _all_ of the command crew save Lace being off ship, but that was Cala's call, not hers.

Amina was not to be dissuaded from the opportunity to add another bow boat to their ship. Having just the one was limiting in instances just like this. She had a small oilskin bag set on her shoulder as they traced the trampled foliage to the small cove that held Pisces and the bow boat.

"Cala!" Pisces said when she spotted the trio emerging from the brush. After a beat she cracked a grin. "And Amina, alright! When I heard Red was going back to the ship, I thought she was just coming right back. But this, this is so much better."

The girls clustered around the bow boat for a few minutes before it became obvious that the three others were just getting in Amina's way. She waved them away as she pried open the engine on the bow boat to tinker with its innards.

Redtooth still had that itchy feeling in her back teeth and it was only getting worse the longer they spent on the island. "Shall we check in on the crew?" Caledonia suggested and Redtooth was all too happy to lead them deeper into the foliage. Pisces was able to direct them to where she had seen the four other girls head to last.

There was also a distinctive squeal piercing the air every few minutes followed by a shriek or whoop from one of the girls. They had definitely found the boar but it didn't sound like there was much of a plan being executed. Redtooth pulled out her pistol and took the lead position in their little triangle. Even if it was a bit odd for them to both be away from the ship like this, having Pi and Cala at her elbows was comforting.

"See the tracks?" Caledonia pointed with the muzzle of her pistol as they descended into a small depression. The island wasn't big enough to have a true valley, but this section was dug into the rock and dirt like a massive scoop had been plunged into the earth. There was a lot of disturbed dirt and broken brush, more than likely caused by an upset hog and a few over-eager girls.

"They're running it in a circle," Redtooth confirmed. She twisted her head to study the canopy above. "How different's a tree from a mast?" she asked Caledonia. The captain holstered her pistol and scampered up the trunk with an elated affirmation.

"Not so different, great." From there, Redtooth studied the tracks with greater detail. Between the tracks and the sounds still erupting intermittently around them, she was reasonably certain where the boar was going to emerge from.

She and Pisces took opposing sides of the trampled pathway and tucked themselves behind the exposed rocks that jutted out from the earth. "Just don't shoot whoever's chasing it," Redtooth called. Pisces made a face in response when Redtooth put a finger to her lips. She'd just heard the squealing from down the path.

Her teeth clamped on the tip of her tongue as she stared down the barrel of her pistol. They didn't want to pepper the thing with lead, for sure, but a frantic boar that had been harassed for the past thirty minutes could also turn dangerous. Redtooth ground her teeth again as she swallowed the idle thought that crossed her mind next. She hoped none of the crew had tried to step in _front_ of the thing while it was charging. Pigs went wild and turned to boars quickly, thick hair and tusks included.

The worries were distracting and distracting didn't belong in a situation like this. Redtooth inhaled deeply and exhaled sharply as the bushes ahead of her shook violently. Seconds later a hairy snout, tusks, and wide, lolling eyes exploded out followed by the rest of the boar's body. Redtooth shouted " _Now!"_ and squeezed off two shots in the direction of the pig's head. She heard similar retorts of Pisces and Caledonia's guns followed by the excited whooping of the girls who were giving chase.

"Get down!" Pisces was shouting but it didn't matter. In two blinks, Redtooth watched as the pig crashed to its knees and tumbled to the ground. It was still managing a few weak squeals until Redtooth approached and put the poor animal out of its misery with a swipe of her blade.

Caledonia came down from the tree as the rest of the shore crew clustered about the successfully hunted boar. A few of the girls seemed surprised by the appearance of their captain, but Redtooth didn't let them linger on that. She wiped off her sword on the leg of her pants and gestured to the carcass. "We get to haul that now," she said cheerfully. "Huzzah!"

"Fresh meat for dinner tonight. For everyone," Pisces reminded them when there was a definite wave of sighs coming over the crew. Redtooth shuffled over to grab a foreleg and directed the shore girls to divide the weight between them. It didn't hurt to have Pisces able to swap in and out for the younger Mary sister. Caledonia took point this time, swiping any errant branches and brush out of the way.

She brought them to Amina and the abandoned bow boat. Redtooth had thought realistically this would just be a moment to rest, but Amina was perched on the prow of the boat with the engine humming merrily behind her.

"It's about time you showed up, Captain!" Amina greeted cheerfully. "We need a name for this new friend." She patted the boat fondly with her hand. Her tools were already neatly back in their oilskin bag as well. As the girls deposited the boar into the boat, it listed slightly to the back.

Cala swiped the sweat off of her brow with the back of her hand. It had taken everyone to maneuver the boar through the shallow water and onto the boat. Breathlessly she suggested, "How about Little Piggy?"


End file.
